Trash is shown piled on the side of the roadway near Orbit Lane in Russellville. City officials have put up a gate to keep vehicles, and potential trash dumpers, off the road. (THE COURIER / Submitted)

Littering and illegal trash dumping remains an issue for much of Russellville, but in some areas, dumping trash has escalated, becoming more than simply a nuisance.

One of these areas is a small section of Orbit Lane, near the site of the planned Russellville Convention Center.

For several years, trash was consistently dumped all along Orbit Lane, and each time, the City of Russellville cleaned it up. The Russellville Recreation and Parks Department is currently working on building a public trail at Orbit Lane, and decided it would be wise to install a gate to keep potential trash dumpers out.

Mack Hollis, director for the Russellville Recreation and Parks Department, said that the gate serves a dual purpose.

“The gate pretty much lets us kill two birds with one stone, so to speak,” Hollis said. “It keeps vehicles from driving further down Orbit Lane and using it as a dump site, but it still lets pedestrians walk in freely, and that is what we want for the trail we want to put in.”

But even with the gate in place, the dumping continues, Hollis said.

“People have started dumping all of their trash right there across the street,” Hollis said. “It’s just a great big trash pit.”

Hollis said that the type of trash varies greatly, but that it is generally made up of larger items. According to Hollis, city crews have picked up everything from common house trash to large furniture items and cabinetries.

“It’s all kind of stuff,” Hollis said. “It’s construction stuff, appliances, furniture, tires, and lots of other things. And what’s worse, no matter how many times that we clean it all up, these people start dumping again.”

The recurring trash dumping has city officials annoyed. According to Russellville Mayor Bill Eaton, the constant efforts to keep the Orbit Lane area free of trash and litter is not only consuming valuable time, but is also costing the city a pretty penny.

“The cleanup efforts on the Orbit Lane trash dumping situation has cost the city many, many dollars,” Eaton said. “This is a situation that has gotten very old, very fast.”

The city has yet to find any clues as to who may be responsible for the repetitive trash dumping. Eaton, however, said that should the guilty perpetrators be discovered, that he would make an example of them in the hopes of discouraging similar acts in the future.

Eaton said that as more laws are put into place regarding trash and recycling, that it is not the intention to restrict the freedoms of the public.

“It is because of a handful of people who refuse to cooperate with our city and dispose of their trash as normal citizens do that we are forced to put new laws in place for the city,” Eaton said. “Because of those few, everyone has to suffer the consequences.”

Hollis said he is currently considering an offer from the Army Corps of Engineers to place a second gate on Orbit Lane.

“Where the dumping is right now, right outside the current gate, is exactly where the trail is going to go,” Hollis said. “If we close off Orbit Lane completely, and only let pedestrians in, that will hopefully eliminate the problem that we are having with all of the dumping right now.”

Hollis said that he also hopes to see the new trail used often by the public.

“If people will use the area, my hope is that people won’t do this kind of stuff anymore, and maybe the littering and dumping will stop.”